


Becoming Doctor Strange

by cazmalfoy



Series: IronStrange Husbands [4]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bad Decisions, Canon Injuries, Car Accidents, Hopeful Ending, Life changing injuries, M/M, Not Steve Friendly, Tony Stark Acting as Harley's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-05 19:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16816756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: Stephen was supposed to have the safe career. Tony was the one who was supposed to be in life threatening situations.So, why did Tony get an alert from Friday, telling him that Stephen had been involved in a horrific accident.





	1. Chapter 1

The first Tony heard about the accident was from Friday.

He’d always had triggers set up to alert him if any of the people in his life were caught up in anything official, including accidents or arrests. He’d never told anyone about his little quirk because he knew it would be weird and classed as a borderline invasion of privacy.

With a level of detachment that would later scare him, Tony read the news report that flashed up in front of his work with no warning from the AI.

Stephen’s Lamborghini had been involved in a RTC with the highest level of severity. Emergency services had retrieved both the vehicle and driver, who had immediately being airlifted to hospital.

It was only when Tony read that his husband had been pulled from the wreckage alive that he started to feel again; the shock having worn off.

“Fri-,” He tried to speak - to tell her to prepare his suit - but he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.

“Your suit is ready and waiting for you, Sir,” Friday said, not wanting for Tony to finish his sentence. She may not be as advanced as her elder brother, but she still knew her creator well enough to know what he was thinking a good chunk of the time.

Tony let out a shaking breath and stumbled his way to the launch pad, where the latest version of his Iron Man suit was waiting for him to step into it.

“I have already programmed the co-ordinates for the hospital into the autopilot navigation system,” Friday informed him as Tony stepped into the suit.

He tried to say something, to thank her for taking care of him, but he couldn’t form the words. He could barely hear Friday’s words over the rushing of blood in his ears.

Later, Tony wouldn’t have been able to remember the path he took to reach the hospital.

Before he knew it, he was landing in front of the ER and stepping out of his suit. A few people around him gawped in surprise at the sight of Iron Man appearing so suddenly, but he paid them no attention.

He was focused on the young woman making her way out of the building. Tony recognised her immediately as the doctor who had cared for his injuries after Siberia.

Christine’s minimal make up with smeared from the tears she had clearly been crying. Despite not knowing him very well, as soon as she was close enough, she threw her arms around Tony, hugging him tighter than he would have thought possible.

“Thank god you’re here!” she exclaimed, slightly louder than Tony would have preferred considering she was right next to his ear. “I tried calling you when Stephen was brought in, but your secretary said you were already en route.”

Tony frowned deeply, trying to work out what she was talking about - he didn’t have a secretary. Did he? He rolled his eyes at himself when he realised she was probably talking about Friday, who must have taken the call without telling Tony.

“Where is he?” Tony croaked, finally managing to speak for the first time since Friday had shown him the police report.

Christine paled a little. “In surgery,” she replied, taking a step back as she tried to recover a modicum of professionalism.

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Why aren’t you performing it?” he demanded. Next to Stephen, Tony knew that Christine was the best surgeon in the hospital. There was no way she should be out there with him, when she was needed inside.

“Stephen - He’s going to need hours of surgery. The senior doctors and I have had to split off into shifts to avoid making this whole situation worse.”

Christine placed a hand on Tony’s arm, steering him into the hospital and away from the prying eyes of the crowd the Iron Man suit had drawn. Tony left the suit where it was; he didn’t care what happened to it - there were more important things on his mind right then - but deep down he knew that Friday would make sure nothing happened to it.

Together they headed through the ER, not stopping until they reached a small waiting room just off the main area. Tony knew that this wasn’t used often, and was often reserved for when the doctors had bad news to give to families.

Instead of waiting for Christine to drop her bombshell on Tony, he asked, “What happened?” The police report hadn’t gone into much more detail other than to state that there had been a car crash, and Tony knew the full report wouldn’t be available for a good while yet.

Christine looked as though she wanted to keep the truth from Tony - to protect him from the horrid nightmares that her words would inevitably conjure. In the end, she seemed to decide that her friendship with Stephen, and by extension Tony now that she knew about their relationship, was worth more than the need for professionalism.

“We don’t know exactly what happened,” she confessed softly. “All we really know is that Stephen was on the phone with a colleague - Billy - when the car crashed.”

Tony swore and screwed his eyes closed, already cursing his husband. “That stupid bastard,” he hissed, drawing a surprised look from Christine. “Stephen was working with Billy on possible cures for Rhodey.”

Christine frowned, trying to figure out who Tony was talking about. He could practically see the light of recognition dawn in her eyes as she murmured, “War Machine.” He wasn’t surprised that she knew about what had happened with Rhodey at the airport in Germany - it had been well publicised by anti-Avengers publications in the time that had passed since then.

A beeping sound broke through the silence that had settled between the pair of them, and Christine looked down with a blank expression on her face. She scowled when she realised that she was being called to an emergency elsewhere in the department.

When she looked up with a look of regret on his face, Tony shook his head and waved his hand. “Don’t worry about me,” he instructed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He wasn’t; not until he was sure that Stephen was going to live and he had yelled at him for being so stupid and risking his life like that.

Christine worried her lip for a moment, before she sighed heavily, knowing that Tony was right. “If you need anything, just ask one of the nurses,” she ordered. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, or if I find anything else out.”

Tony tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but he was sure she saw right through it, even if she didn’t call him on it.

After watching her leave, Tony slid down into the nearest seat and pressing his hands against his face. Now that his adrenaline had worn off, he was starting to panic. This couldn’t be happening to him; Stephen was the one that was supposed to be safe - he had the sensible profession. Unlike Tony who stupidly invited terrorists into their house in Malibu.

He lowered his hands, hating that they were shaking and he couldn’t control it.

_Stark men don’t show emotion; they’re made of iron._

With a silent snarl, Tony roughly brushed tears from his cheeks. He could go for _years_ without thinking about his father, but one thing he had never been able to shake was Howard’s insistence that Stark men did _not_ show emotion in public.

The band around his left wrist felt heavy and, with a jolt, Tony wondered what the hospital had done with Stephen’s. Surely it had been removed for them to operate on him, but Christine hadn’t mentioned anything.

He made a mental note to ask Christine when she next returned; the bracelets were made of the small amount of Vibranium Tony had found in Howard’s lab after his parents’ car accident.

Tony wasn’t sat in the chair for very long when the trauma and uncertainty of the day caught up with him, and he fell asleep.

*

He woke up to the feel of a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

“Ste’en?” Tony mumbled sleepily, running a hand over his face as he opened his eyes.

As soon as he did and saw Christine Palmer standing over him, the reality of what had happened earlier came rushing back to him.

“What happened?” he demanded, suddenly wide awake as he jumped to his feet, almost knocking the doctor over.

She didn’t seem alarmed at Tony’s sudden shift into consciousness. “He’s out of surgery,” Christine told him, and Tony couldn’t help blinking in surprise.

That was when he realised that she wasn’t wearing her hospital scrubs anymore. Instead, she was wearing a pair of tight black jeans, and a black hooded sweatshirt. She had clearly finished her shift, and apparently the surgery had been completed.

She should be on her way home to rest before her next shift started. Tony thought about telling her to do just that, but then he remembered Stephen’s stories about her and how stubborn she was, and realised it would be futile.

She reminded Tony of Pepper, which was an absolutely terrifying thought.

“He’s still asleep,” Christine continued when Tony didn’t speak. “I’ve spoken to the duty nurse and you can see him.” She held a hand up when Tony felt his face light up in hope. “He’s going to be distraught to say the least, when he wakes up,” she cautioned, sitting down in the seat beside Tony.

“Before you see him, there’s something you should know,” she whispered, wiping away the hope Tony had been feeling. “Stephen has sustained a few broken ribs, and he’s covered in bruises.”

Tony nodded silently, his mind reeling. The injuries she had just described were nowhere near severe enough to require the hours of surgery Christine had said Stephen had been through.

“What else?” he asked, closing his eyes as though he could prepare himself for the terrible news that was about to hit him.

Christine drew in a sharp breath and Tony knew that he had been right; whatever she had to say wasn’t going to be good. “His hands were damaged in the crash,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “All his bones were shattered, and there’s extensive nerve damage.”

Tony couldn’t help but mirror Christine’s inhale. He didn’t need her to tell him what that meant; Stephen was renowned for being one of the best surgeons of their generation. Injuries so extreme meant that his ability to operate would be significantly reduced, if not ruined completely.

Stephen was also not going to accept that there had been nothing they could do to save his hands.

“I need to see him,” Tony announced, getting to his feet with Christine following suit. “Where is he?”

Instead of giving him directions, Christine placed a hand on Tony’s elbow and silently steered him down the corridor. They passed all the usual rooms patients would be provided with, to the more private rooms which were exclusive to patients who could afford it only.

Outside Stephen’s room, they paused and Christine turned to Tony. “I’m going to leave you alone with him,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small pad of paper and a pen - staples for all nurses in the ER, Tony was sure of it.

Tony watched curiously as she scribbled a series of numbers on the pad; belatedly he realised that they were a cell phone number.

“I’m due back on shift in eight hours,” she told Tony, handing him the number. “If you need me or his condition changes, give me a call. I’ll check back in with you.”

A grateful smile spread across Tony’s face and he caught her hand before she could pull it away. “Thank you,” he whispered, squeezing her hand gently in an attempt to portray his gratitude.

Christine returned the smile with a sad one of her own, before she was on her way to get some much needed rest, leaving Tony alone in front of the door to Stephen’s room.

Tony took a deep breath, trying to steel himself for what he would see, before he pushed the pressed the handle down and pushed the door open.

Even though Christine had prepared him for what he would see, the reality of the situation was so much worse than he had expected.

Stephen was lying on his back, his hands held in the air by supports to assist with the healing process. The part of skin which wasn’t covered in bruises was ashen and grey against the bright while of the hospital bedding.

As soon as the door was closed behind him, Tony felt the dam break and he couldn’t suppress the sob that forced its way from his throat.

He stumbled across the room, only just managing to not collapse on the bed beside his husband; the last thing he wanted, was to make Stephen’s injuries worse than they already were.

With eyes that were rapidly blurring due to tears, Tony grabbed one of the chairs and dragged it across the room, not even caring if it scuffed the floor.

“God, Stephen,” Tony croaked, resting his elbows on the edge of the bed and cradling his head in his hands; he couldn’t even take hold of Stephen’s hands like he wanted to. “What the fuck were you thinking?” he hissed, tears falling unchecked down his cheeks.

“I _told_ you that Billy was working on Rhodey’s treatment and would let us have an update next week.” Tony shook his head, tugging painfully at his hair to ground himself. “You could have fucking _died_.”

Tony broke off and hand to press a hand against his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He knew he was being a hypocrite; Tony had lost track of the number of times their situations had been reversed, with Stephen watching over an unconscious Tony.

Tony had long since come to terms with his own mortality - his line of work kinda demanded it. Stephen was the one who was supposed to be safe; the one with the sensible line of work that would protect him from the real evils of the world that Tony had to deal with.

He fell asleep, head resting uncomfortably on the bed beside Stephen’s unconscious form, his mind running through a million different ways he could protect his husband from any more hurt.

*

The pain in his neck woke Tony and he sat up with a groan, his hand automatically moving to the rub at the sore muscles. Considering he often fell asleep at his workbench, he thought he should be used to sleeping with his neck at odd angles, but the resulting pain never seemed to get better.

The universe’s way of punishing him for being so stupid, he supposed.

“Tony,” a familiar, albeit croaky, voice said from above him and Tony’s head snapped up, all worries about pain immediately forgotten about.

Stephen was awake and looking at Tony with red, bloodshot eyes, flamed by the dark bruises that accompanied the trauma they had been though.

“Ste,” he breathed, about to rush closer to his husband before he remembered Stephen’s injuries.

One look at the haunted expression on Stephen’s face told Tony all he needed to know. While he’d been asleep someone had come in and told the world renowned doctor that his career was over; that his life as he had known it had come to an end.

“How could you?” Stephen asked, his eyes filling with tears.

Tony recoiled as though he had been hit. There was a venom in his husband’s voice that he hadn’t heard aimed at anyone for _years_ , never mind him.

Without giving Tony a chance to demand what the hell what Stephen was talking about, the injured man continued, “You let an unqualified _hack_ operate on me, and now they’ve ruined everything!”

Tony couldn’t help letting out a disbelieving snort in response to the words. “I’m not sure Christine would appreciate being called an ‘unqualified hack’,” he muttered.

Stephen levelled a glare at him, which effectively managed to wipe away any amusement Tony felt - which, admittedly, hadn’t been much given the situation. “I though the whole point of having a next of kin was that they were supposed to make _correct_ decisions on your behalf,” Stephen snarled.

For a moment, Tony didn’t speak - couldn’t find the words to properly express how he felt at the oddity of the conversation. He had woken up so relieved to see that his husband was awake, yet the urge to strange the other man was growing stronger by the second.

“You were already in surgery when I got here,” Tony replied, leaning back in the chair and folding his arms across his chest as he let iciness slide into his voice. If Stephen could treat _him_ like dirt, the least he could do was return the favour. “What was I supposed to do, barge in there and take the scalpel away from them?” he continued sarcastically, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge to Stephen.

Neither of them spoke and for a brief moment, Tony thought that Stephen was finally realising how unreasonable he was being (it had to be the medication. Tony had to believe that was the cause). But then Stephen spoke again and ruined the illusion.

“I’m getting another opinion,” Stephen stated. “There are better doctors out there who’ll be able to fix this.” His voice broke on the last few words of the sentence and the tears in his eyes started sliding down his cheeks.

Buried underneath the newly re-implanted arc reactor, Tony felt his heart clench painfully. “Ste,” he whispered, leaning forward and pressing his hands against Stephen’s upper arm - needing the comfort, but knowing he couldn’t risk touching anywhere else for fear of hurting his husband. “There are no better doctors,” he said softly. “I know that -,”

He broke off when Stephen’s eyes darkened with hatred. “You don’t know anything!” he shouted, his face reddening with fury. “You don’t know what it’s like to have your life ruined by a single action.”

Tony got to his feet so suddenly he surprised himself. “You’re right. There’s no possible way I could know what you’re feeling right now. My own bomb exploding in my face couldn’t possibly compare to the way you’re feeling right now,” he retorted, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Stephen didn’t speak and Tony heaved a sigh. They weren’t getting anywhere, and one of them was going to say something they regretted pretty soon.

He needed to get out of the room; to give Stephen some space to calm down and for Tony to collect himself as well. “I’m going to get a coffee,” he decided, ignoring the scrape of the chair as he pushed it back and moved away from the bed. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Tony didn’t look back at Stephen as he headed across the room. It was only when he reached the door that Tony stopped. He turned around to look at Stephen once more, hoping that Stephen had already started to calm down, but the other man still looked as furious as he had before.

It was when he spoke that Tony felt his heart break, Arc reactor or not.

“Don’t bother.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Mr Stark!”

Tony winced at the volume of the exclamation that came through the speakers of his workshop after FRIDAY connected the call. “Jeez, kid, take it down a notch or two,” he muttered, pushing himself away from his desk and rolling across to the workstation on the other side of the room. “I know I’m getting old, but I’m not fully deaf yet.”

There was an embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry, Mr Stark,” Peter murmured. 

The instruction to call him by his name was on the tip of Tony’s tongue, but he bit it back; there was no use wasting his breath - he’d asked Peter multiple times to call him ‘Tony’, but the teenager didn’t seem capable of uttering the simple word.

Instead, he chuckled and busied himself with gathering the materials he needed. “What’s up in Queens?” he asked, rolling back across the floor. “That old lady buy you any more churros?”

“She’s in Florida for the winter,” Peter answered easily, making Tony smile affectionately. He loved how close the teenager was to the people in his neighbourhood. “It’s been really quiet, lately. I did help three cats down from trees, though. And this old man needed help getting his new lawnmower into his garage.”

Peter said more things, but Tony wasn’t listening. It wasn’t that he didn’t care - quite the opposite, in fact - Peter’s voice was just so soothing and his enthusiasm was contagious. Tony couldn’t help feeling enthused and energised after every conversation the pair of them had.

“Mr Stark?” Peter asked, and Tony blinked in surprise, realising too late that he had missed part of the conversation. 

He paused for a second, trying to think back on what he could have missed. When he realised he couldn’t remember at all, Tony sighed heavily and admitted defeat. “Sorry, kid, maybe I’m older than I thought; spaced out for a moment, there. What did you say?”

Peter was silent, and Tony got the distinct impression that the next words out of his mouth weren’t the ones he had originally said. “Are you okay?” he asked, making Tony scowl in response; it was impossible to not notice the silent question in Peter’s voice - what he _really_ wanted to ask.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, wheeling himself back over to his workbench. Peter made a noise that suggested he didn’t agree, and Tony’s scowl darkened even further. “Kid…” he said, letting the warning slide into his voice in a way he rarely did with Peter or Harley.

Peter, the teenage genius that he was, immediately got the hint that Tony wasn’t going to talk about the other stuff that was going on in his life. “If you’re sure…”

Tony nodded firmly, even though it was pointless since Peter was on an audio call only and couldn’t see him. “I am,” he insisted. “Tell me more about the man with the lawnmower.”

There was a beat of hesitation on the other end of the line, before Peter complied and dove into a blow-by-blow of the lawnmower incident.

Tony made sure he paid attention to every word Peter said this time.

*

The hologram projected in the centre of the room was talking about something important; Tony was sure of it. He just had no idea what that was, since he’d tuned out about forty-five minutes ago.

Beside him, Rhodey, Carol and Hope looked just as bored as Tony felt. But all of them knew the same thing, there was no way they could get out of the meeting unless there was a threat which required the Avengers.

Biting back a sigh, Tony picked his phone up from the table and activated the screen. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rhodey glare at him but Tony ignored him; he was just jealous that Tony was out of the line of sight of the hologram and could get away with not paying attention.

He spent a few minutes flicking back and forth between various apps, but nothing was holding his attention. For the first time in a long time, he was up to date with his emails, so he couldn’t even use those as a distraction.

Peter’s concerns from earlier than morning were still ringing in his ears, and without his permission, Tony found his fingers straying to the alert app he had created.

For the last eleven months, the app had been silent, yet Tony found himself checking twice a week out of habit.

Just as he had expected, there had been no unusual activity on any of his and Stephen’s joint accounts; the same accounts that Tony had restricted his husband’s access to immediately after leaving the hospital.

The last thing Tony wanted Stephen to do was drain their fortune in a futile attempt to find a cure for the damage done to his hands.

His actions had resulted in a _livid_ and expletive filled phone call from Stephen, during which Tony had refused to back down regardless of the slurs that had been thrown at him.

In the end, Stephen had given up and hung up after a lengthy tirade, leaving Tony staring at his phone in disbelief.

That had been within a month of Stephen’s accident and had been the last time Tony had spoken to his husband.

Tony couldn’t stop a small sigh escaping his lips, making Rhodey look at him sharply, but he gave a minute shake of his head to let the other man know he was okay.

Focusing his attention back on his phone, Tony flicked through the last mentions of Stephen’s whereabouts. The last one had been in an airport in Nepal six months ago, but then he had dropped off the grid. Tony had to admit that he was curious to see why he had gone there (not to mention, _how)_. 

When he had first seen the alert, he had been tempted to try call Stephen but had managed to talk himself out of it. The other man had made it very clear he didn’t want Tony’s help or opinion, and Tony was damned if he was going to go grovelling back to Stephen. Especially when _he_ wasn’t the one who had done anything worth apologising for.

Tony jumped in surprise when the alarm sounded and a red light in the corner of the room started flashing. 

A call to arms.

Carol was the first to get to her feet, her serious mask sliding into place as she curtly told the person on the other end of the hologram that they were going to have to go (Seriously, Tony thought, who the hell was the guy, anyway? He had no idea.).

Grateful for the distraction, Tony got to his feet and slid his phone into his pocket as he followed the rest of them down to suit up.

His love life may be in a sorry state, but the state of the city _was_ something Tony could fix.

*

The fight was in Central Park - because where else would it be in New York, during the middle of winter - and was in full swing when Tony and the rest of the Avengers arrived a short while after the alarm was raised.

Before the whole ‘Civil War’ Tony was sure they would have barged in, guns blazing without assessing the situation.

Now, under Carol’s leadership, they were almost unrecognisable.

At the perimeter of the park, the small group of superheroes stopped in their tracks to survey the situation. 

Just off the North side of the park, there was a giant purple creature that appeared to be taking great pleasure in terrorising the tourists that still thought it was a good idea to visit New York after the multiple invasions and mass destruction the city seemed prone to.

There was a smattering of police officers trying to contain the situation, but that seemed to only annoy the creature even more.

 _Great, more aliens_ , Tony couldn’t help thinking to himself as he focused on the instructions Carol was giving; they never felt like orders coming from the Captain - yet another way she was different from her predecessor. 

“Iron Man,” Carol said, turning to Tony, “are you okay with drawing it’s attention away from the civilians, while Wasp and I concentrate on helping the police with crowd control?”

“No problem,” Tony said, his voice easily filtering through the suit’s audio systems.

Without waiting for another word, he activated his flying systems and took off in the direction of the alien.

Up close, there was no denying the creature wasn’t off this world - not that Tony had thought otherwise, but he figured you could never tell these days.

Unlike the creatures which had waged war on Earth during the Invasion of ’12, this alien was practically adorable in its lack of ferociousness. In fact, with it’s eight tentacles, purple pallor and comedically large eyes, Tony wouldn’t be surprised if he found out some kid had created the whole thing.

One beady eye watched Tony as he flew around the creature, getting as close as he dare before coming to a stop. There was a bored expression on it’s face, as though it couldn’t believe _Tony_ was the one they had sent to distract him.

Without pulling it’s attention away from the scene on the ground, the creature grabbed the nearest car with one tentacle and threw it at Tony.

Behind his faceplate, Tony felt his eyes widen and lifted his hand, easily blasting through the metal flying toward him, splitting it down the middle.

“Well, that was rude,” Tony commented, blasting off a rocket at the alien in retaliation. He swore under his breath when the shot didn’t even make a dint against it's skin. “What the hell is this thing made out of?”

Abandoning his task of causing a distraction (it wasn’t working, anyway), Tony flew down to where Carol was standing on the ground, having just escorted a family of picnickers away from the area.

“I don’t think the plan is going to work,” Tony commented, raising his face plate up so he didn’t have to converse with their leader via electronic voice.

Beside him, Carol sighed and glanced back at the alien. Even the other members of the New Avengers had fallen back, helpless against such a large beast that didn’t seem to be doing anything other than making a mess.

“You’re right,” Carol agreed, in yet another way she was different from her predecessor; Tony didn’t think he’d ever heard Rogers tell Tony he was right about something. “Any ideas about what we can -,”

She didn’t get chance to finish her sentence, and Tony could easily see what had distracted her. Underneath the creature, the ground appeared to be on fire; the green grass was slowly turning orange and what had originally started as a small circle appeared to be growing larger and larger.

“What the hell is _that_?” Tony couldn’t help asking, even though he was pretty sure Carol was just as lost as he was.

Carol shrugged helplessly, before letting out an involuntary yelp of surprise when the creature fell _through_ the now-orange grass underneath it.

As soon as the creature disappeared, the orange light quickly smaller before it disappeared completely, leaving no evidence it had been even been there to start with.

“We’ve got a bogey over here,” Rhodey’s voice echoed through their communication devices, immediately grabbing Tony’s attention and pushing his senses back onto high alert.

A short distance away from Rhodey stood a man wearing a high-collared, long red cloak. There was an orange glow around his hands which should remind Tony of Maximoff, but for some reason didn’t feel half as threatening.

“Who is that?” Carol demanded, immediately taking up a defensive position.

Tony, however, didn’t copy her. “I’m pretty sure that’s my husband.”

*

For a long while, no one moved.

Tony knew his words had been heard by all of the New Avengers; he hadn’t cut the communications off before speaking. And he just knew they were waiting for him to make the first move or decide what was going to happen.

He heaved a sigh and activated the flight system; there was a conversation he and Stephen needed to have and it needed to be face to face.

As he grew closer, the first thing Tony couldn’t help noticing was how _good_ his husband looked. 

_‘So_ not _the time, Stark!’_ he mentally snapped at himself as he came to a stop ten feet away from Stephen.

Apprehension started to grow on Stephen’s face and the orange lights around his hands started growing. Tony couldn’t say how he knew, but he was certain that his husband was about to flee the impending confrontation.

Not that Tony had any intention in letting him.

“Not so fast!” Tony exclaimed, activating the small, mostly harmless weapons of his suit and firing one at Stephen. 

It didn’t hit him, intentionally falling short just before it made impact, but it was enough to get Stephen’s attention and the orange lights disappeared.

Stephen sighed and met Tony’s confused gaze with his own. “Hello, Tony,” he greeted. There was carefulness in his voice that suggested he had no idea how Tony was going to react to them being in the same place for the first time in almost a year.

Tony had no idea where to even begin demanding answers; there were far too many questions running around his brain, and he couldn’t decide which one he wanted answering first.

In the end, he simply said, “We need to talk.”

The apprehension on Stephen’s face grew, even as he solemnly nodded. “Not here,” he said, his voice lower than normal, as though he hadn’t used it much for an extended period of time.

Tony rolled his eyes. Of course he wasn’t about to have such a personal conversation in the middle of Central Park. But that didn’t mean he could leave a mission without following the correct protocol - even if said mission had been over pretty much before it began.

Stephen would need to be debriefed as well, Tony realised with a start.

“Be on the balcony of the Tower in an hour,” Tony instructed, turning his back on Stephen and heading back over to Carol.

He had no idea if Stephen was going to turn up, but he also realised he didn’t care. 

The ball was in Stephen’s court now, and Tony was getting too tired to play.

*

The Tower in question had originally been Stark Tower, before it had been renamed Avengers Tower. Now, though, it was simply ‘the Tower’ as Tony was in the process of selling the property and arranging for any equipment to be moved upstate.

As a result, the Tower stood in almost darkness when Tony landed on the balcony that had once been his personal landing pad.

Stephen was nowhere to be seen, Tony realised with a sinking feeling as he stepped out of the Iron Man suit. 

He knew it had been ridiculous for him to tell Stephen to meet him on the balcony - how was he supposed to get there when the tower was all locked up - but he had been hoping Stephen had some kind of trick up his sleeve that made getting into the building possible.

“Looks like that’s it,” Tony muttered to himself after several minutes of pacing.

He let out a yelp of surprise when a voice from behind him commented, “Giving up a little easy, aren’t you?” 

Tony whirled around just in time to see Stephen stepping out of a portal - an actual _fucking_ portal! - which disappeared quickly behind him as soon as he was clear of it.

They were silent, neither of them knowing what to say, before Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. They were married, for crying out loud; they should be able to talk to each other.

“I don’t know whether to punch you or kiss you,” Tony blurted with his usual amount of tact.

Stephen’s eyes widened at the comment, and he couldn’t help letting out a startled laugh. “Do I get a vote?” Tony rolled his eyes but didn’t speak, and Stephen continued. “As much as I would love to ask for the latter, you were right. We do need to talk. You deserve to know what’s going on.”

Tony’s lips pursed a little. “Are you going to give me straight answers?” he asked, a little warily. “Because if you’re going to start throwing insults in my direction, then I think I’ll pass.” Stephen winced, but Tony wasn’t finished, “If I wanted to be called a controlling fucking dictator, I’d pick up that phone and call Rogers.”

A regretful look appeared on Stephen’s face and Tony couldn’t help feeling a stab of childish satisfaction. 

“I deserved that,” Stephen agreed with a regretful look. “Can we…” He trailed off and nodded toward the still-locked entrance to the Tower.

Tony didn’t want to go inside; too many memories of Ultron and the original Avengers. But, the more rational side of his brain pointed out, they were high up and the temperature was starting to drop.

“Fri, unlock the West balcony door,” Tony instructed his AI.

Wordlessly, FRIDAY did as instructed, before returning to her previous silent state. Tony knew she wasn’t happy about him agreeing to speak to Stephen after everything that had happened between them and was giving him the silent treatment unless absolutely necessary.

As they stepped through the doorway, FRIDAY activated the closest lights to them, making the whole space look eerie in the half light.

“Okay,” Tony said when the door closed behind them. “We’re here. Now I want some answers. Mainly what the hell happened to you during the last year and what happened in Central Park.”

Stephen, to his credit, didn’t even hesitate in beginning to speak. “I know it won’t even begin to make up for the hell I’ve put you through this last year, but… For what it’s worth, I _am_ sorry, Tony.”

Despite his resolve to stay strong in being mad at Stephen, Tony felt his walls crumbling as he stood, face to face, with the man he had accidentally grown to love over the last twenty years.

“All I wanted to do was stop you from making the situation worse,” Tony said, hating himself for how much his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

The regret on Stephen’s face deepened. “I know that _now_. A year ago… I was grieving. Christine had just told me that everything I’d worked toward my entire life had been for nothing.” Tony opened his mouth to comment, but Stephen cut him off before he could speak. “I’m not trying to excuse my behaviour _or_ what I said.”

Tony swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat. He wanted to forgive Stephen - boy, did he want to - but Stephen’s past words were echoing in the back of his mind, and he couldn’t let them go so easily.

“Okay, let’s park the apology for now,” Tony said, doing what he usually did and changing the subject. “Where the hell have you been since?”

For the first time since he arrived at the Tower, Stephen hesitated before responding to Tony. However, he didn’t try to keep the truth from Tony; he appeared to have been thinking about what words he could use to properly explain.

“When you blocked my access to our accounts which I fully understand now, by the way - I had to think of other ways to figure out a way to get a second opinion on my hands and the situation.”

Tony folded his arms across his chest, but remained silent, waiting for his husband to continue speaking.

“I sold my Porsche,” Stephen continued, which Tony wasn’t surprised to hear. Stephen had never really liked that car - it had been sitting in the garage for most of its life; it barely had three hundred miles on the clock.

“I’d been asking around, trying to find someone who would be able to fix my hands,” Stephen said, glancing down at his hands before looking back up at Tony. “Everyone told me the same thing you and Christine had been saying; that there was nothing that could be done medically.”

Tony raised an eyebrow and couldn’t stop himself from muttering, “Told you so.”

The corners of Stephen’s mouth twitched up in an affectionate smile. “Yes,” he agreed. “You were right. As always.” He shook his head briefly, before returning back to his explanation. “I was about to give up and admit defeat when I heard about a man with a C7-C8 spinal cord injury who was healed.”

Brown eyes widened, and Tony opened his mouth to argue that what Stephen was saying was impossible, but the words caught in his throat. It had been a hell of a decade and Tony had seen a lot of impossible things - including his husband stepping through a _portal -_ there was every possibility that what Stephen was saying was plausible.

Of course, the other man knew exactly what Tony was thinking and offered him an amused smile. “I know - I thought the same thing. But I hunted him down and it was true; he was up and walking around as though nothing had happened.”

Stephen broke off for a moment and moved away from Tony, looking around him as he took in how different the surroundings looked. Tony wanted to say something, but for the first time in a long time, words felt like they had abandoned the genius and he didn’t know what to say.

“He pointed me to a place in Nepal called Kamar-Taj,” Stephen said, coming to a stop near what had been the dining room and turning back to Tony.

Tony shook his head silently; he had never heard of such a place, and FRIDAY was still silent in his ear, so there was no hope of an answer being provided by her.

“I hadn’t heard of it, either,” said Stephen. “I bought a plane ticket to Nepal with the money from the Porsche and went hunting it down.”

It should sound insane. Tony knew he shouldn’t believe what Stephen was saying - he should have just told him to get lost, gone home and done what he should have done almost a year ago; filed for divorce.

But he couldn’t. Despite everything Stephen had said to him and the lack of communication from his husband, Tony still loved him with every fibre in his body.

He wanted his life to go back to normal. Whatever that meant now.

“So that’s where you learnt the magic tricks,” Tony surprised, making an intuitive leap to work out what Stephen hadn’t told him yet.

Stephen didn’t look surprised that Tony had figured out what he was saying. If anything, he looked proud. “It’s a little bit more than magic tricks,” Stephen corrected Tony, sounding a little annoyed at the words he had used. “But, yes, essentially you’re right. Again.”

Without waiting for Tony to speak, Stephen pressed his hands together and did… something that he couldn’t even begin to describe. Tony wasn’t able to suppress the awe he felt as he watched Stephen’s hands begin to glow orange.

Another smaller portal opened beside Stephen and Tony watched him reach inside, trying to not scream at him to stop (he didn’t have very fond memories of portals, after all.).

Less than thirty seconds later, Stephen drew his arm back and Tony couldn’t help gasping in surprise. In his hand, he was holding what was unmistakably a burger wrapped in white paper, baring a logo Tony immediately recognised.

“Here,” Stephen said, stepping closer and holding the burger out to Tony. “I know you won’t have eaten today.”

Tony’s hands were shaking as he took the burger from Stephen. Just as he had expected, there was a logo printed on the paper for Tony’s favourite burger place. Down the road from where they had lived in Malibu.

“Okay, I’m starting to believe you,” Tony murmured, unwrapping the burger and taking a bite; there was no way he was going to let good food go to waste.

A brilliant grin spread across Stephen’s face as he watched Tony eat. “There’s a lot more to it that a few hand gestures but,” he shrugged, “we can go over everything later. I promise I’ll answer as much as I can. And if I can’t; I’ll go back to Kamar-Taj and get the answers for you.”

Tony’s breath caught in his throat at Stephen’s offhanded comment about ‘later’ and suddenly a fearful look was back on Stephen’s face.

“That is if you’re willing to give me another chance,” Stephen was quick to add, incorrectly interpreting the emotions Tony was feeling. “I know I don’t deserve it, I-,”

If there was one thing people always said about Tony, it was that he made rash decisions in the heat of the moment. Without a second thought, Tony closed the distance between them and clamped a hand over Stephen’s mouth.

“I should kick your ass, right now,” Tony said, trying to sound calmer than he felt. A regretful look deepened on Stephen’s face, but Tony didn’t give him chance to say anything before he continued, “God knows I have more than enough reason to.”

“But, I’m not going to,” Tony carried on, moving his hand away from Stephen’s mouth. “Pepper and Rhodey are going to give me hell for this - even FRIDAY, probably - but I’m not going to tell you to get lost.”

Stephen shook his head, seemingly unable to comprehend what Tony was saying. “Why?” he blurted. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

Tony couldn’t help chuckling a little. “Well, that’s good, because I didn’t say I’d forgiven you.” Stephen looked crestfallen and Tony continued, “But I know we can move on from this and figure out what this means for us. I love you, Stephen. Even if that makes me a fool.”

The breath Stephen released in response to Tony’s words sounded shaky.

“I love you, too,” Stephen whispered, a tear falling unchecked from his right eye.

Without pausing to second guess himself, Tony closed what was left of the distance between them and planted a firm kiss against Stephen’s lips. 

Stephen clearly hadn’t been expecting Tony to even want to be within three feet of him because he didn’t have chance to react to the kiss before Tony pulled back, although he didn’t move too far away from him.

“I have a lot of making up to do,” Stephen stated.

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. “Not just with me,” he corrected. At Stephen’s confused look, he added, “There are two teenagers upstate who have been thinking of us as parents for quite a while now.”

Pain crossed Stephen’s face and he looked even more regretful than he had earlier. “I bet they hate me.”

Part of Tony wanted to lie to Stephen, but he knew there was no point. He was going to find out the truth eventually; best for him to prepare himself ahead of time.

“I had to tell them what happened,” Tony said, choosing his words carefully. “Obviously there were some parts I left out, but neither of them are idiots; I think they figured out most of what happened for themselves.”

Stephen screwed his eyes closed as more tears fell down his cheeks. “Pete’ll forgive you pretty easily. You know how eager he is to be friends with everyone.” Tony winced a little as Stephen opened his eyes, “Harley’ll probably put you through hell, but he’ll forgive eventually.”

They both fell silent, neither of them knowing what to say or how to say the words they had been saving up for months.

“We’re gonna get through this,” Tony whispered, the first to break the silence as usual.

He reached out to take Stephen’s hands in his, before remembering what had happened and the injuries his husband had sustained. Stephen, clearly sensing Tony’s hesitation, made the decision for him and took hold of Tony’s hands.

Stephen’s fingers were scarred from the surgery and there was a slight tremor that Tony could feel, but it was nothing compared to what Tony had expected Stephen to be dealing with.

Whatever magic he had found in Kamar-Taj had clearly been the miracle Stephen had been looking for.

“Yeah, we are,” Stephen agreed, gently tugging Tony closer. “I love you, Tony. I always have, and always will. I’m going to spend every day of the rest of the my life proving that to you.”

Tony rolled his eyes at the cheesiness of the words coming from his husband, even though there was a grin on his face and tears in his eyes. “I love you too, Ste. More than I ever thought possible.”

Their lips met and Tony couldn’t stop a sob of happiness from escaping. The fight they’d had wasn’t forgotten - not by a long shot - but Tony wasn’t willing to let Stephen out of his life.

“Come on,” Tony whispered, pressing another soft kiss against Stephen’s lips. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
